A World So Hateful
by HannahCake310
Summary: The one in which the guys save the wrong person. Not all humans are so accepting.


**Apparently I am incapable of writing anything less than 1k. Anyways, this was supposed to be a one shot. Not sure how I feel about it. Please enjoy none the less. Title taken from Macklemore song _Same Love_. Warnings for language, violence and other stuff that makes the turtles general badasses.**

* * *

The thing about being a hero was that sometimes the people you are saving don't want to be saved by someone like you. Sometimes, and it doesn't happen often, but _sometimes_ the damsel in distress is more afraid of you than they are the crook that's trying to snatch their purse or gangbanger wanting to get close for a quick fight and the goods in your store. It didn't happen all the time, sometimes the people were gracious – more accepting of seeing a flash of green and the rough side of a shell after their store has been saved and their wellbeing cared for that they don't care who saved them just that they were saved and were able to see their families again. However, it does happen when saving a stranger in a dark alley was more hassle than actually letting the Purple Dragon cut their throat and steal their money. Days came and went when the brothers would get a tongue lashing or, on the extreme occasion, actually blamed for the horror that had just happened to the human.

The days were few and far between but they did happen.

Today was one of those days.

"Lie to me Leo," Raphael yelled trying to make his legs pump faster, jump harder. This was one hell of a run.

"We're almost done," Leonardo laughed keeping a hard pace in front of his brothers. Feet slid against roof as he turned hard to the right to miss a rooftop entrance to a hotel.

"Really?" Donatello was out of breath, he really wished he hadn't decided to bring his extra bag along. He knew _training run_ meant _training run_ but a small part of him had hoped it had also meant he'd get a chance to stop by the dump to grab a few odds and ends from the piles. One mans' trash, others treasure and all that shit. His hopes were in vain however having passed the dump almost five miles back and there was no way he was going to double back. His legs were starting to feel more like jelly than muscle.

"Nope, that was a lie." Leo could admit to even himself that they were going harder than usual but they needed to. They were starting to slack and Leonardo wasn't about letting his brothers become lazy. "Ralph told me to lie."

"Leo you're a slave driver!" whined Michelangelo bringing his arm up to wipe the sweat from his brow. It was no use. His arm was already slick with its own sweat and perspiration that it just moved it all around rather than soaking any up.

The night was hot, muggy like any other late July evening. They'd started their run as soon as the last rays of sunlight had disappeared from sight letting the moon and all her shadows cover the city. The air was thick and heavy, moisture could be felt and bugs attacked anything salty or cooler than themselves, which just happened to be the four turtles prancing over the rooftops. Mikey, who was holding strong in the back of the pack could feel his shoulders start to tighten as he pumped his arms. "How about this, I double back and get the van and I'll meet you guys somewhere and we'll go get ice creme!"

"Don't get us excited Mike, we all know ya can't drive." Raph swatted away a couple of flies that few into his face. Mikey had enough energy to wave his hand dismissively.

"Someone could teach me to drive–"

"Not a chance," Don had to smile at that one. It was bad enough teaching Raph how to drive the Battle Shell after Leo had outright refused to get behind the wheel. They needed at least two drivers, that Don was sure of. Himself and someone else just in case something happened to him. After Leo had said no Raph was the next best choice barring Mikey. "Should we list off everything you've crashed? Your hover board, the taxi I fixed up, Raph's motorcycle–"

"Details, details." Mikey said no more on the subject. Raph growled thinking about his poor bike. It had been over two years but the pain of losing his baby still stung deep in his man-heart that loved that piece of beautiful machinery.

"We ain't gonna talk about my baby," his teeth clenched pulling muscles in his jaw bringing some of his attention from his aching bare feet to his aching jaw.

"It was an accident," Mikey started to protest but Leo cut him off.

"May she rest in peace," He called from the front. He couldn't hold himself back. "Or pieces." A part of him wanted to snap at all the chattering, they couldn't be too loud or else people would notice but another part of himself, the stronger part, knew that his brothers needed the distraction. If they were talking – _complaining_ – then they wouldn't be thinking about the many miles Leo had planned to go. That was Leo's secret weapon. Get and keep his brothers distracted so they didn't fully realize they were running almost triple their normal rout. Leo didn't want to kill his brothers with the run but he did want to ferment in their heads that just because Splinter was on his pilgrimage to Japan they weren't allowed to slack off like they'd been doing the last few days. He could only take so much of Raph's hard metal music or Mikey's high pitched gaming soundtrack or Don's buzzers signaling the end of an experiment for so long until he started to bang his own head on the wall. This run was needed not just for his sanity but also for–

A scream sliced through the air bringing the four to a stop with sliding feet. Leo turned to look at his brothers who all stared back at him.

"Help!"

The plea came from an alley a few streets down. By unspoken agreement the brothers shot off forgetting about their own aches and pains and the air that was just about too thick to breath.

When they reached the spot where they'd heard the voice yell, Leo brought up his hand to stop his brothers advancement. They needed to see what was happening. Maybe a Good Samaritan would show up to help the person and they wouldn't be needed – that was the best case scenario and also the most unlikely. Leo didn't kid himself, this was New York City and where they stood was the slums of the slums. Gun shots and screams in the night were about as common as sunlight around here. Not to mention the crooked cops, police that never showed up even after a call to 9-1-1, and the local gang that laid their turf over this territory. Some hospitals didn't even admit gunshot wounds turning injured people away with a shake of the head and an apology after sighting the rules.

Raph and Leo leaned over the edge of the roof still enshrouded in shadows to see who had yelled. The alley was wind swept with trash and debris from whatever had gotten trapped in the dead end alleyway. Bundles of clothes-lines were scattered between the building they stood on and the apartment next door. Moonlight lit the alley enough to see five large figures in the shadows covering someone on the ground. There was a garbling of words from deep voiced men before the person on the ground whimpered and sobbed trying to scream again just to get a hand forced over her mouth and shaken hard.

"Leo." Raph growled cracking his knuckles and fingering his sai at his hips. Leo looked at him, licked his lip thinking out a strategy. He may have had years of experience under his belt but rushing in thinking a plan would just appear would be a rookie mistake. He turned facing Mikey and Don who already had weapons drawn both still slightly out of breath from their run. "Mike, you're on me. Don with Raph. Keep the fighting close and get them away from the girl. No heroics and please, try not to be seen." He didn't need to say the last part but all the same the three nodded in agreement. "Then let's move. Let's go."

Leonardo jumped first landing at the lip of the alley soon followed by Michelangelo. Donatello and Raphael sprang over to the other side of the roof scaling down the side of the building. Leo drew his swords, he could hear the hum, the distortion of air as Mikey swung his chucks behind him. They took a few steps forward without being noticed. The five men surrounding the woman were too focused on their prey to look up.

"So," Leo lowered his voice and spoke loudly making sure he was surrounded by the dark shadows but letting the sharp tips of his twin blades glint in the moonlight. "Out for a little stroll, gentlemen?"

The men turned growling like they were animals. Leo could smell their sweaty skin and see their baggy, dirty clothes from where he stood.

"This ain't none of your business!" one yelled, probably thinking Leo and Mikey to be another set of hood rats looking to take what they'd already caught. The thought sickened Leo, "You have two seconds to back away and no one will get hurt."

A lie. They would beat the crap out of them if they stepped back or not. These men were gangbangers, Leo could tell by the clothes they wore, the tattoo on the sides of their necks that shown bright in the moonlight. He could tell by the way they held themselves, positioned their hands and leaned their heads back. Cocky.

"Don't know if you can count asshole. There're two a'you an five'a us so shove off before we make you."

Raphael chose that moment to jump down from where he and Don had pushed themselves into a crevice between the fire escape and building. "Four, dickhead. Now back up before we make it so you're eatin' through a straw for the rest of your lives."

 _Always one for the theatrics_ , Leo internally rolled his eyes.

The men laughed. One pulled a glinting knife from his pocket while another reached behind his back but didn't pull anything out keeping his hands in the folds of his jacket which Leo's calculated mind told him nestled a gun. Behind the men, the woman whimpered and sniffled. A swift kick from the nearest man to her middle had her crying out. Leo growled but not as loudly as Raphael. It was by unspoken agreement the four turtles jumped forward.

And the fight began.

It was chaos, organized chaos. There was almost a dance to the whole scene as Leo lunged forward drawing his sword and cutting down the nearest man before he could draw his gun. He fell like a tree tipping over and crashing to the ground. He'd been taken by surprise. The kill had been easy, Leo thought. But now the others had seen what he could do and now they were angry.

 _Oh well_ , Leo reasoned. _At least now it was a fair fight._

Four humans and four turtles met in the middle of the trash strewn alley.

The men weren't as skilled as the brothers but what they lacked in ability they made up for in height and strength. Even the shortest of the men still towered over Donatello who was tallest of the turtles. They were large, brawny and thought that just because they can meant they should. Not all Top-Siders were the same but if Leo could take every quality he hated about humans and bundle them together into one group it would be the men fighting them.

An arm came up, brass knuckles accenting fingers with small triangle points welded on to draw blood. Leo dodged easily sidestepping and brought his sword up to block. A dance, that was all it was. A rough, bloody, painful dance that left bruises and scars but a dance none the less. Leo threw his leg forwards trying to trip the man but he jumped as if he were jumping rope then came forward, arm extended just missing the side of Leo's head.

All around were the sights and sounds of battle. Had this been years ago Leonardo would've feared for his brothers safety, he'd used to always keep one eye on his opponent and one on his brothers – but not now. Somewhere deep inside Leo could feel whether from the shifting of the air, the wise cracks from his family as they joked, or maybe on some bond that they had created over the years that only came from fighting with each other Leo knew his brothers were fine.

A block, extend, parry and a feint to the right. The man had short chopped blonde hair and ears with holes in them Leo was sure could fit a quarter. His breath smelled of stale cigarettes, his teeth were yellowed in the moonlight when Leo drew him close.

"I thought only girls dyed their hair pink." Leo could hear Raph taunting his man. So much for stealth.

Leonardo heard a pained grunt, felt a shift in the air before something was being flung at him. He sensed a green mass coming for him fast and decided not to jump out of the way. Angling himself instead so his swords were out of the way as to not skewer himself. A body slammed into him knocking both right into a dirty dumpster with a loud clang. Leo groaned as his head and shell cracked against the metal, the dumpster dented with the force. In his arms Donatello groaned rubbing at his head having lost his bo staff somewhere during his flight. Leo looked down at the purple turtle. "This has gone on long enough."

"Agreed." Just as quickly as they were taken down both brothers were back up running towards their opponents.

Leonardo crouched left out of the way as the towering man tried to grab at his shoulders to slam him into the wall. Swiftly he sheathed his right sword. He was done with this. Getting further to the ground, Leo jumped once bringing his fist to punch the man. The man moved just as Leo predicted and when he did the turtle flicked his wrist, sword in hand and sliced. There was a scream silenced before it was heard and the man went down in a heap on the ground. Not dead but soon to be if not treated. Leo didn't care, he only had so much guilt over taking a murdering gangster off the streets.

Looking around, Leo noticed his brothers finishing with their attackers disposing them on the ground. When the last of them fell Leonardo walked slowly towards the woman. The night was dark hiding them but no dark enough. The outline of their shells could be seen as well as the greenish tint to their skin. They didn't look human, that was for sure. The woman cried softly to herself, eyes wide gleaming in the moonlight. Her clothes were in tatters and hair a mess. Blood shined on her face from her nose and the side of her mouth. She was no doubt a beautiful woman but now she just looked haggard and frightened and Leonardo didn't blame her. Don came to Leo's side as they drew closer. He had his hands in his bag digging in to get supplies. Mikey and Raph came closer as well but stayed a safe distance from the woman. Raph, because he didn't like dealing with the humans in general unless their name was Casey Jones and Mikey because he really only liked interacting with the children they saved. While some children were scared of them many others thought they looked funny but understood they'd just been saved – and Mikey lived for the five minutes Leo allotted him to cheer the kids up from the shadows.

 _"I'm just your friendly neighborhood turtle-man!"_

Don came closer to the woman with Leo a step behind. Her eyes were big, pupils dilated and body shaking. Don sat down on his knees just out of her reach but Leo, feeling stupidly bold went closer on her other side.

"Don't come near me!" She screeched as Leo got down on his knees not too close but closer than normal. The woman was hurt, bleeding under her shirt and from her nose. Don got out his medkit.

"Please," Leonardo tried. "We're want to help you. I don't want to hurt you, please sit still." Her hands had been bound but with a flick of his wrist, Leo got it cut and the woman flung the rope aside.

Then, she screamed.

Loud. Louder than anything Leo had heard in a long time. "Get! Get away from me! Help! Somebody help me! Monsters! Monsters!"

Then, she swung.

She brought her arm back cocked and swung at Leo who was too stunned to get out of the way in time. The turtle fell back more from surprise than actual pain landing on his shell touching his cheek lightly feeling it start to swell. There was a cut where the woman's wedding ring had broken skin, blood sluggishly dripped from the slice. She stood up quickly. "Freak!"

Then… she spat at him.

Spit flew from her mouth landing just to the side of Leo's foot. The blue turtle laid there frozen as the woman turned and ran past Mikey who quickly jumped out of her way. Her shirt was still half off, she was missing a shoe and her hair was a rat's nest of hair strands coming and going at odd angles. She yelled and begged for help screaming about monsters and freaks.

Don looked over to where Leo had fallen with wide eyes, Leo looked back. Raph watched the woman's retreating form while Mikey stood frozen. The alley was still strewn with the bodies of the men they'd fought to save the woman. Leo had to fight back the hurt he felt inside but it bit at him tearing away at his insides. He felt sick. Nauseous. Like he wanted to retch up everything in his stomach. But mostly he felt numb. Shocked and numb. From somewhere off in the distance sirens blared.

"Let's," Don started. "We better go." He held his hand out to help Leo but Leo refused the offered hand. He pulled himself off the ground and jumped to the nearest fire escape. Silence and the creek of metal followed him until he was on the roof with his brothers coming up a second later. Leo turned towards the Lair, they were three miles away but that was alright, a run would clear his suddenly muddled thoughts.

As soon as the manhole cover was slid closed the four let out a breath they hadn't known they were holding. Lights, dim and with foggy coverings on the bulbs, flickered in the sewer. Leo felt better being back in their territory, on their own turf, but the nagging sinking feeling in his gut persisted. No one spoke as they ventured back home with only flickering lights and the rumble of a faraway subway car shaking the ground. It wasn't until they were almost to the Lair door that Mikey finally spoke breaking the silence and pulling each of them from their own thoughts. "Are we... Are we freaks?"

Leonardo's first answer, his reflex answer was a quick _no_ , but that never passed his lips as he thought harder. They'd been rejected before. People were scared about what they didn't understand and no one could really understand them. This had hurt though, hurt right down to Leonardo's core because he'd cared about what happened to that woman and she'd hit him. She had actually hit him and then... Then she'd spat at him.

Like he was some sort of animal.

Like he was some sort of monster.

Maybe he was a monster.

The sewer was no place to have this conversation but no one moved. With water nipping at their ankles they stood still not wanting to move and all feeling some type of hurt.

"We're not..." Donatello folded his arms. "We're not freaks, Mikey." The youngest turtle looked close to tears, just as Leonardo felt. Raph kicked at the water angrily.

"We stuck our necks out for that bitch and she-she-" he growled low and deep in his throat kicking the water again.

A thought struck Leo bringing up an inkling of hope, "We saved that woman tonight. We _saved_ her. If it hadn't been for us she would have died." Mikey, Don and finally Raph looked up at him. Leo felt his cheek itching away at the dried blood. "We did good tonight." He said even if he still felt a little hurt from everything that had happened. Even though what that lady had said stung and even though she'd stuck him he still felt like they had done good. She might've been ungrateful but at least she was alive. She could go home to her husband or wife or kids and live another day.

Raphael laughed to himself forcing his anger down. He chuckled once more diffusing the situation more. "We ain't doin' this cause we want people ta like us. We go Topside because we wanna protect the dumbasses that live in this city from the other dumbasses that want to hurt 'em." It was probably one of the most insightful things Leo had ever heard his brother mutter and he felt proud and comforted at the same time.

Don put his hand in Mikey's shoulder. "We have each other. We have April and Casey and Master Splinter. No one else really matters, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mikey agreed with a nod of his head.

It wasn't the first time someone had rejected them and it wouldn't be the last. They were different, some could argue they weren't even natural. They were created from ooze and grew up in the sewers. They learned martial arts and read about the studies of Bushido. They called themselves brothers without even knowing if it were true or if they had just been in the same proximity as one another when that kid bought them from the pet store. Their father was a rat and they wore colored bandannas. They weren't normal but that was okay, normal was boring.

One thing was certain though, they may be freaks and monsters but they were a family. A strange family but a strong one and no one could take that away from them.

And Leonardo would be damned before he let anyone try.


End file.
